TOP GUN SEQUEL IN THE WORKS; PRODUCERS TRYING TO FIT VAL KILMER IN

July 3 2010

Hollywood, CA – On May 16, 1986 the entire world stepped into the danger zone. That day saw the release of ‘Top Gun’, the high flying Air Force epic that launched Tom Cruise into the stratosphere of film stardom and ushered in a whole new genre
of popular filmmaking. Constructed in the lawyer and agent era of Hollywood filmmaking, ‘Top Gun’ perfected the star vehicle in ways that had only been hinted at before, and have been followed verbatim ever since. Seen as slightly cheesy and more than a little homoerotic today, ‘Top Gun’ was one of the few movies that changed Hollywood forever.

While the film may not have been ‘Citizen Kane’ or ‘The Godfather’ the impact of Maverick and Goose had on the industry was undeniably huge and even today draws a great deal of fandom. Because of that it makes perfect sense that the producers of the original film have started to develop a sequel which would likely once again put Tom Cruise in the cockpit as he attempts to correct the flight path of his career. While Cruise has no doubt aged since the release of the film, producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that they had indeed begun discussions to mount a sequel that would likely involve much of the principal cast from the original including Val Kilmer, provided they can fit him in.

“We tried to develop [a sequel] and we couldn't do it-- I was with my partner Don Simpson and then Tom took it over and he tried to develop something and it never quite happened,” Bruckheimer told MTV. “We were recently approached again to start talking about it but, you know, nothing yet. We kicked around some ideas because the aviation community has completely changed since we made the movie a long time ago. So we have to find a way in and how to incorporate the Maverick character into it.”

It has long been rumoured that Maverick would come back as a teacher at the Top Gun academy and would eventually find his way into the cockpit, similar to the role played by Tom Skerritt in the original.

“It’s certainly an interesting idea and I’m sure a lot of people would be interested in seeing the film but you have to wonder if enough would see the picture to justify what
would likely be an exorbitant production cost. Tom Cruise isn’t exactly the most bankable star anymore and anything that big would likely have a high cost attached and that could ultimately kill the project, kill it as dead as Goose,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “Remakes and sequels are all the rage right now but not because they are remakes and sequels. The successful ones and on their own and the failures do the same. The project has to sell by itself and frankly this Gung-Ho Americana is something that peaked in the 80’s. With failing war and serious economic problems the last thing people want to see is Tom Cruise collecting a big cheque.”

Anthony Edwards will likely not return as his character died in the original film. Kelly McGillis who played love interest Charlie has largely left acting and aged very poorly making her return equally unlikely.

“That said this could really be the thing that pushes Cruise back into the spotlight. There is this assumption that because of his age he simply can’t be a star but people like Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood remained box office bank late into their careers so there is no reason why that can’t happen with Cruise,” continued Temple. “You would also hope that the most talented actor of that original cast, Val Kilmer, will also be able to mount a comeback provided they can fit him in the movie. There’s not a whole lot of room for two big names in a star vehicle and with Cruise Kilmer may have trouble fitting into the frame. Hopefully though, fingers crossed.”